On this edition of ST Medical Monday, we discuss a systematic, wide-ranging, and newly released effort to improve the health of the people of Tulsa County (where more than 60 percent of the population is overweight or obese). Our guest is Bruce Dart, executive director of the Tulsa Health Department, who tells us about his organization's multi-faceted Community Health Improvement Plan (or CHIP). It's a three-year initiative that draws on the resources of many different groups in our community to educate people about nutrition, healthy living, exercise, and related ideas...while also making it easier for folks at all income levels to access better food, find affordable housing, utilize better public transportation, obtain high-quality health care, and so on. As noted at the Tulsa Health Department's 2017 CHIP website: "Health is often determined more by social factors than by medical care. Education, economic opportunities, access to resources, race and ethnicity, the environment, social and family networks all impact the health of an individual. Because of this, it's critical to have support from everyone who can make a difference in these fields. We are very excited to share this plan with you -- and to make a difference in Tulsa."

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Walfred Lopez, a Los Angeles County community health worker, was determined to figure out why.

Karlton Hill was only 12 years old when when he found out he had diabetes. Even though he was only in seventh grade, Karlton knew what diabetes was; he had watched the disease destroy his great-grandmother's life.

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